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Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Today's shortwave BLOG LOGS, represent a portion of those recently cut from my SWBC Logs column in Monitoring Times magazine, due to space constraints. Contributions are always welcome for the magazine or blog, and may be directed to my above email address. Thanks very much to the contributors for your kind words and support.Gayle VH

BelarusRadio Station Belarus. 7360, 2245-2300. English programming with local pop music and brief one minute news item at 2259. Fair signal, but much weaker on // 7390. No other parallel freqs noted. (B Alexander, PA).

CanadaCFVP. 6030, 1249-1256. Country and western music to 1251, followed by Secret Sound contest promo. Station ID as "Classic Country AM 1060." Back to music at 1252 for good signal, and much better than usual. (J Wilkins, CO).

Gannan PBS (presumed). 3990, 1212. Talk by lady announcer in Chinese (or Chinese dialect) under amateur radio operators. Signal too weak. Xinjiang is supposed to be here as well but isn't schedule to sign-on until alittle later. (D Valko, PA/HCDX).

ClandestineEcho of Hope. 3985, 1214. Obviously a station here as it was beibng jammed. Talk via male/female host in Asian language. Voice of the People 3912 also noted at the same time and also being jammed with buzzing jammer. (D Valko, PA/HCDX).

Radio Luz y Vida. 3250.07, 1151-1215. Quiet religious music to long commerical string at 1201. Extended schedule of influenza vaccinations avaible in various hamlets, into music at 1215. (J Wilkins, CO).

IndiaAll India Radio-Kurseong (presumed). Period of Hindi vocal music. Appeared to be parallel with other AIR stations carrying the news when checked 121-1235. Seemed strong enough but audio level is too low. (D Valko, PA).

Papua New GuineaRadio New Ireland. 3905, 1245. Best PNG noted at 1245 with reggae music. Announcers time check and song announcement, followed by island music. Two Top 40 pop songs, lucky to hear brief sign-off identification. Instrumental national anthem at 1301-1302.* Carrier stayed on to at least 1307. (D Valko, PA/HCDX).

Solar activity was very low. No flares were detected. The visible disk was spotless.

No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit reached high levels during each day of the period.

The geomagnetic field was at mostly quiet levels during 21 - 24 January. Activity increased to active levels on 25 January. Activity decreased to mostly quiet levels for the balance of the period. ACE solar wind measurements indicated a recurrent coronal hole high-speed stream (HSS) was in progress at the start of the period. Peak velocity during this stream was 606.7 km/sec at 21/0107 UTC followed by a gradual decrease through 22 January. A solar sectorboundary crossing (away (+) to toward (-)) occurred during 22 - 23 January associated with increased proton densities (peak 9.6 p/cc at 23/2038 UTC) and increased IMF Bt (peak 5.9 nT at 22/1839 UTC). Another solar sector boundary crossing (toward (-) to away (+)) wasdetected on 24 January in advance of a coronal hole-related co-rotating interaction region (CIR) and HSS. The CIR began late on 24 January and was associated with an increase in proton densities (peak 17.9 p/cc at 24/1302 UTC) and IMF changes including increased Bt (peak 10.2 nT at 25/0216 UTC) and intermittent periods of southward Bz (minimum -7.2 nT at 25/0458 UTC). Velocities associated with the HSS increased during 25 January and reached a peak of 574.1 km/sec at 25/0731 UTC, then gradually decreased during the rest of the period.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity30 January - 25 February 2008

Solar activity is expected to be very low.

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to reach high levels during 03 - 24 February.

The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet during 30 - 31 January. Activity is expected to increase to unsettled to active levels on 01 - 02 February due to the onset of a recurrent coronal hole high-speed stream. Quiet to unsettled conditions are expected during 03 - 05 February as the high-speed stream gradually subsides. Quiet conditions are expected during 06 - 08 February. Activity is expected to increase to unsettled to active levels during 09 - 10 February due to another recurrent coronal hole high-speed stream. Quiet to unsettled conditions are expected during 11 - 13 February as coronal hole effects subside. Activity is expected to decrease to quiet levels during the rest of the period.

Why the once-ubiquitous stick antenna is now an endangered speciesAssociated Press

Jan 26, 2008

DETROIT–An automotive appendage that often goes unnoticed on the road – unless it loses a battle with the automatic car wash – is disappearing as it succumbs to changing technology, tastes and economics.

The stalwart stick, pole or fixed-mast antenna, mounted on the fender of nearly every vehicle two decades ago, is now on about half of all new models and its ranks continue to dwindle. When trucks are removed from the equation, it's around 25 per cent.

Its vanishing act is notable on many new vehicles. The 2008 Ford Taurus, for example, has a hidden, in-glass antenna and optional small, roof-mounted satellite radio antenna.

"There's an industrywide push to move away from a metal mast antenna," said Alan Hall, a spokesperson for Ford Motor Co. "Within the next few years, all (Ford) cars and crossovers will have transitioned to the smaller antenna.''

The stick antenna faces interference on several fronts. Designers seek to erase anything that detracts from sleek lines, engineers want to eliminate drag that increases noise and decreases gas mileage, and consumers desire signals for their cellphones, satellite radios and global-positioning system devices.

And auto executives are trying to cut costs of commodities such as steel and reduce threats to quality – even before cars reach consumers. Stick antennas are removed when the carriers deliver the cars to dealers so they aren't damaged.

Toyota Motor Corp. is mostly free of the traditional long stick antenna, except on single-cab pickup trucks and convertibles, which aren't well-suited for in-glass antennas.

One Toyota executive said the change began in 2001. Quality, fuel economy and cost of operation, drive Toyota's decision-making, said Paul Williamsen, the national manager of Lexus College, a training school for U.S. dealers.

"Both are what come out of the customer's pocketbook. And an antenna is going to lose on both."

The change has challenged antenna suppliers. Some have gone out of business or been acquired by larger suppliers as auto makers have sought to squeeze costs.

"You have to provide what they want or else you lose their business," said Jan Boring, president of Global Products Inc. and sales representative for the U.S. subsidiary of Japan-based Harada Industry Co. Ltd., one of the world's major mobile antenna makers. "There's been a demand by the industry for increased technological improvements for hidden types of antennas.''

Boring said Harada still makes stick antennas, but has moved toward roof-mounted and in-glass models that accommodate GPS, cellular and other frequencies.

The old stick probably would have vanished by now – but for one nagging thing: It has provided better reception than its offspring.

"For really good reception for low and high frequency, boy, it's hard to beat a good stick on a large field of metal,'' Williamsen said.

He said auto makers have worked for 25 years on a "diversity antenna," a field of antennas that can be embedded in the side and rear glass of the vehicles to pull in signals. It's a way of achieving similar results from the stick.

General Motors Corp. tried putting antennas in windshields in the 1970s, but they didn't offer good reception. And the standard stick also was threatened in the 1980s and '90s by power mast antennas, electronically controlled by drivers. Problem was, the power antenna was even more likely to be damaged in car washes if it wasn't lowered.

Boring said the evolution of the antenna – and demise of the stick – is positive.

"You have abilities to have navigation systems in your vehicle, cellular phones and telematics, capability of having satellite radio and others," he said. "You have these conveniences without having extra antenna masts protruding from the vehicle.''Toronto Starhttp://www.wheels.ca/article/167028(Fred Waterer via ODXA)

The importance of making content widely available online was the frequent refrain in Ottawa Tuesday morning as the BBC's chief public policy adviser spoke at a hearing of the Canadian Heritage Committee.

"The impact of digital technology cannot be underestimated," the BBC's Wilf White, who was joined by his deputy, Daniel Wilson, told the committee at a session exploring the role of a public broadcaster.

Newer technologies such as the BBC's iPlayer — which offers web audiences the opportunity to watch its television or listen to its radio programming from the past seven days — "is radically transforming our business," White said.

Despite also struggling with problems like market fragmentation, funding constraints and increased competition from new broadcasters and other platforms facing North American counterparts, White said the BBC considers it a very exciting time and is focused on looking for new opportunities.

He praised 1990s-era BBC director-general John Birt for his foresight about the internet as an emerging technology and vision that there would one day be little distinction between radio, television and online.

Because of decisions the former chief made, "there was always a strong link between our television and radio services and our online services," White said.

"As soon as [audiences] realized there was content there … they started wanting to explore."

For instance, he said, the BBC's online service has transformed the broadcaster's ability to seek public opinion on many issues.

In the past, when trying to get the public to comment, "you'd end up with perhaps half a dozen letters," White said.

"Now we have several thousand people regularly e-mailing us, offering opinions on message boards. We are never short of comments from he public now ... Sometimes we can create so much feedback that it can become overwhelming."Partnering with other sites

White and Wilson also spoke of deals with partners such as video-sharing site Youtube and social networking sites to show BBC content, in a no-ads environment conducive to its role as a public broadcaster.

While the broadcaster, which on average features 80 per cent European or U.K.-produced content across its services, doesn't gain revenue from these sorts of deals, savings can sometimes be found in terms of distribution, Wilson said.

"They want our content and we want their audience," White said, though he admitted that newer technologies aside, he felt there would always be a demand for live programming.

As part of this drive, the BBC chose to "pay a little bit extra" and strike "platform-neutral" rights deals with independent producers and other stakeholders in order to be able to distribute their productions by these newer methods, Wilson said.

"It was a matter of demonstrating how usage has changed, how on demand was very much more important to audiences."

Pursuing further international co-productions for pricier projects, such as its deal with the CBC for the TV show Doctor Who, and boosting coverage of and productions from its various regions — such as Wales, Scotland and Ireland — are also part of the BBC's plan going forward.

With the Summer Olympics from Beijing nearing, time to remind readers of China Radio's ongoing Olympic series QSL cards.Beijing has declared "we are ready," and Olympic fans are counting the days to Summer Olympics Games 2008. To mark this occasion, China Radio International is offering QSL cards and postcards of ten Olympic sites. Send your reception reports to;China Radio International16A Shijingshan StreetBeijing 100040People’s Republic of Chinaor via email crieng@cri.com.cn

January 28, 2008As if electronics weren't already compact enough, they could get a whole lot tinier, according to researchers at the University of Illinois who have built a radio smaller than a grain of sand.

The researchers, along with electronics engineers at Northrop Grumman Electronics Systems in Linthicum, Md., said they used microscopic carbon nanotube technology to fashion a working radio that was able to receive a traffic report from a Baltimore radio station.

Nanotubes, or tiny strands of carbon atoms, were used to create the radio's antenna and amplifiers while headphones were plugged directly into the output of a nanotube transistor.

The research team said the purpose of the project was not necessarily to build an extraordinarily small radio but to show that nanotubes could be an alternative to accepted building materials in electronics ‹ such as silicon, which is popular in computer microprocessor.

"We were not trying to make the world¹s tiniest radios," said John Rogers, a founder professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois, in a statement. "The nanotube radios are a demonstration, an important milestone toward building the technology into a form that ultimately would be commercially competitive with entrenched approaches."

Practical nanotube devices and circuits are now possible, Rogers said, because of a new technique developed by the team. The procedure produces horizontally aligned arrays of hundreds of thousands of nanotubes that together act as semiconductor material.

Electric charges can move independently through each nanotube, which means the arrays can be deployed into electronic devices and circuits in much the same way that silicon-based microchips currently are.

Radio station WWVH in Hawaii, operated since 1948 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to broadcast time, frequency and other announcements, recently powered up innovative replacement antennas.

In a seven-year project to adopt a technology used on Navy ships, NIST has installed new antennas encased in fiberglass rather than traditional steel supports, to resist corrosion from the salty ocean air. The fiberglass design will reduce maintenance and repair costs. The new design also enables the flexible, lightweight antennas to be easily lowered to the ground for maintenance, reducing safety hazards to staff who previously had to climb the towers, which are up to 98 feet tall. The improved antennas should reduce signal downtime for WWVH users.

From its location on the island of Kauai, WWVH broadcasts on four different frequencies. Each frequency requires a different antenna; including backups, the station has a total of eight antennas, seven of which are made of fiberglass. NIST erected and powered up the last fiberglass replacement antenna in October 2007. NIST staff believe the project is the first demonstration of high-powered, high-frequency fiberglass antennas on land.(Source: NIST/R Netherlands Media Network weblog)

Monday, January 28, 2008

VOA will provide extensive multi-media coverage in 45 languages of President Bush’s State of the Union address and the Democratic response Washington, D.C., January 28, 2008 – The Voice of America (VOA) will provide extensive multi-media coveragein 45 languages of President Bush’s State of the Union address and the Democratic response.

VOA’s in-depth coverage and analysis will include, (all UTC times are for January 29):

Live television broadcast with simultaneous interpretation in Persian in a special broadcast from 0030 to 0230 UTC (5:00 to 7:00 a.m. Tehran time). Setareh Derakhshesh and Vafa Mostaghim will co-anchor the program from VOA’s headquarters. VOA’s Persian News Network reporter Siamak Deghanpour will report live from Capitol Hill. Shayan Samii and Babak Yektafar, both PNN political contributors, will provide analysis.

A special radio/TV simulcast in English starting at 0200 UTC. VOA News Now’s Ira Mellman will host the program and be joined by VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone, VOA White House Correspondent Paula Wolfson and VOA Capitol Hill Correspondent Dan Robinson.

VOA Mandarin will provide live reports of President Bush’s address during its 0000 to 0300 radio broadcast and follow up with an in depth television report at 1400 UTC (9:00 p.m. Beijing time).

Seven VOA European services will broadcast television reports to stations in Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine. Reports in Russian will be available via the Internet.

VOA Dari will carry the address live on radio with simultaneous interpretation.www.VOANews.com, VOA’s Internet site, will provide live audio and video streams of the President’s address and the Democratic response as well as on-demand audio and video streams, an MP3 download, news coverage, and full transcripts.(Source: Voice of America)Multilingual schedules and additional Real Audio information may be found at:http://www.voanews.com/english/portal.cfm

CLANDESTINE from ? to ETHIOPIA 9445 Andenet LeDemocracy has this announcement on their website: "We will stop our program for a short period after our Wed Jan 16, 2008 broadcast. We will notify when our broadcast commences and apologize for the interruption." The last audio file on their website is dated Jan 16. (Johnson Jan25)

CLANDESTINE from TAIWAN? To LAOS 15260 Hmong Lao Radio's schedule for their Asian transmissions is now 0100-0200 on Thursdays and Sundays according to their website. They had been on a different time and frequency schedule via KWHR in Hawaii. The WRTH list the Moj Them broadcast on this same frequency and time at different days of the week and list the site as Taiwan. (Johnson Jan 25)

TAIWAN? 15260 Hmong World Christian Radio These transmissions had also been via KWHR, but are now scheduled at 0100-0200 Saturdays according to their website. (Johnson Jan 25)(Source: Hans Johnson, FL via Cumbre DX)

News and features - AfricaBy Samme BogadSunday, 27 January 2008Gundula Adolfsson and Yassin MahiSomaliweyn radio and TV has signed an historic international agreement with the English section of Swedish Radio International. The agreement will be mainly based on content collaboration over both news networks. Somaliweyn listeners will be able to follow the English programmes of Swedish Radio International live in Mogadishu, Somalia, and on the internet pages of the Somaliweyn's website.

Honorable Yassin Mahi, one of the top officials of radio and TV Somaliweyn, who is also the head of marketing and international relations at the news organisation, said the development followed lenthy discussions between the two broascasters. "This is an historic agreement for a local Somali radio to sign an agreement with an international radio, and this issue will have immense advantage for the Somali community," he said. As Gundula Adolfsson, head of Swedish Radio International's programmes, signed the agreement, Mr. Mahi spoke about the problems faced by journalists working in war ravaged."These independent journalist are working in a very awful circumstances such as constant fear and oppress." "These independent journalist are working in a very awful circumstances such as constant fear and oppress." Ingemar Lofgren a senior member of Swedish Radio International, praised Somaliweyn radio for the role it plays among the Somali society, and said this was a major step forward.The agreement comes as the director of Somaliweyn Abdurahman Hudeyfi, along with reporter Al-Bashir, are still being held at the headquarters of the national security department in Somalia.http://www.mediahelpingmedia.org/content/view/300/1/(Source: Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi)

Sunday, January 27, 2008

The following programs have been selected by Shortwave Central and Btown Monitoring Post, as the Best of the Best for Sunday DX programs on shortwave radio.Programs include receiver reviews, DX news, propagation information, media features, satellites, amateur radio, internet news and broadcasting trends.

Starting times may vary slightly and some programs may also be heard via RealAudio links at the station website.

Chad4905 RD Nationale Tchadienne (Ndjamenne). 2256-2301*. 26 Jan 08. French. Hip hop in English and Afropop in French. Station promos at TOH. National Anthem and off at 2301S9/very good signal. (J Wood, TN)

Clandestine6275.5 Raido Arctica. 2112. Good signal peaking at S-9. First program. End of editorial at tune-in with web URL and e-mail address. Organ music. 2114 wind blowing SFX and woman with RS ID announcement, more instrumental music, then indigenous choral singing. 2119-2121 M in EG tlk abt the water/grass and walking in the Arctic mixed w/melancholy mx. 2121-2123 tlk by W in RS w/wind blowing SFX and ment of the Arctic and Arctica. 2123 more indigenous singing by woman with 2124-2126 wind blowing with male's ID in English giving station's mission and then editorial. Program ended with web address and email again. 2126-2127 tlk by woman in Russian followed by organ music. 2128 signal appeared to go off the air but was fading badly at this time. (D. valko, PA via HCDX 26 Jan.)

Djibouti4780 Radio Djibouti (Djibouti), 0354-0415, 1/26/2008, Arabic. Horn of Africa music with short announcements by man. Talk by man at 0401 followed by more music at 0406 Strong signal with CODAR interference. SINPO 43333. Audio somewhat low. (J. Evans, TN)

Egypt6290 Egyptian Radio. (Kafir Silim-Abis). 0039-0059. 26 Jan 08. Arabic. A very interesting show consisting of either an operetta or musical comedy. I can’t remember what the difference between the two is. Lots of catchy singing, joking and laughing. All with a Middle Eastern flair. S9+10/VG. (J.Wood, TN)

Guatemala4780 Radio Coatan 1216. Times given by male at tune-in, continued music and more announcements. ID at 1221, time check and a few more brief announcements, into soft Spanish muic. Live time-check and canned ID "Este es R. Coatan" at 1230. Lively Latin American music at 1330. Long voice-over talk 1337-1340, then Ranchera music. Could just barely make out audio at 1400. Last time I was able to detect the carrier tone (tuned in SSB) was at 1438, 2:08 hours after our local sunrise!! (D. Valko, PA via HCDX 26 Jan.)

Papua New Guinea3315, Radio Manus, 1134-1218, Jan.27. Tok Pisin and English, program of C&W traditional ballads, plus Everly Brothers singing "Take A Message To Mary", Cindy Lauper with "Time After Time", 1200 choral Anthem followed by exotic bird calls, seemed to be relay of NBC, brief news in English with weather forecast ("showers"), DJ playing pop songs. IDs heard: "here on Radio Manus" and "NBC National Radio", mostly fair, best in USB (R. Howard, CA)

Zimbabwe3396, Radio Zimbabwe, 0133-0315, Jan 27. Started out poor, quickly came up to fair and then went on to extremely good reception, 0133-0205 heard with alternate segments of African high-life music and OM talking in vernacular over the music, 0205 changed program to ballad/soul/rap songs, back to high-life, gospel and pop songs in vernacular and English (song "True Colors"), 0300 drums, IDs in English: "Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Zimbabwe, shortwave", drums again, repeat of same ID, long list of cities with their FM frequencies (Harare FM 96 MHz, etc.), list of SW frequencies and details of broadcasting times, back to high-life music and in vernacular. The whole time 4828 was also well heard, not parallel, with non-stop music (high-life, gospel songs in English, etc.) but with no announcements. Super enjoyable listening! (R. Howard, CA)

Saturday, January 26, 2008

German member Stefan Schliphacke has been in Uganda and made a lot of DX-ing Jan 04-10 in his new house 20 km. SW of Kampala. Read the full and extraordinary story in the next SWN. Several items are found below and here are some of his observations about the general reception conditions particularly on MW:

"Local sun set in Uganda is at 1915 local / 1615 UTC respectively and fade in of stations starts around UTC 1430. Having electricity in place, it turned out however, that the power was at very low level in the whole area and voltage for my AOR was just not enough from around 1915 until 2315 local time due to local power consumption from neighbouring houses. Consequently I had to interrupt my listening activities and start again later. Generally the band looks less crowded compared to Europe. The main pest are the Arabs. Being in Uganda I realised what a huge amount of transmitters broadcast from these countries, most of them being on 24hours schedules nowadays unfortunately. While north-west Africans did not cause so many problems, stations from Sudan and Egypt are very strong even those having 5 or less kilowatts of power. Also Saudi-Arabia gets through very well and almost of these stations are being heard. After the sign off of the stations from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda at 2100 / 2110 UTC, I started to go after West and South Africa but with limited results unfortunately. After 2300 only few Africans remain and stations from the Middle East show up on lots of frequencies.

I was surprised that Pakistan and India had not been heard but this might have resulted from conditions and the relatively short aerials. From late evening and through the night Europe was audible astonishingly good. I logged some of them only. Especially Spain and France showed up with most of there frequencies and had stable and strong signals. I mentioned a couple of these stations in the log section. I would wish the opposite way when in Europe would look the same, hihi. During the night lots of stations from South America showed up on about 30 channels, mostly weak, some quite strong, but I did not pay attention to it. Local sunrise takes place at 0615 / 0315 UTC respectively and propagation lasted until around 0830 / 0530 UTC."

Djibouti

Since the agreement made with the US government concerning the R Sawa braodcasts from this little country, the usage of 1170 MW was stopped – a good decision because 1170 is blocked from the Sawa station in Al-Dhabbiya / UAE all day long anyway nowadays. The broadcasts are aired in Arabic on 1116 MW in // to 4780. When signing on at 0300 there is Quran in // with 1539MW which afterwards has Afar programme. I cannot say anything in regard of the programme during the day, but in the afternoon both channels have Arabic until 1600 when 1539MW goes into Afar again and 1116MW remains with Arabic. I did not make out any trace of the French programme listed, but this might be on the air later on, because due to local power supply shortage, I was not able to listen at 1615-2100. (Schliephacke)

Eritrea

837 and 945 MW. These are both active. The schedule is slightly different however, because the morning sign off is at 0400 instead of the 0330 listed in EMWG and WRTH. This makes it even harder to catch these stations in Europe due to propagation. (Schliephacke)

Kenya

All frequencies checked when in Uganda. Programmes, times and usage of frequencies a listed in the WRTH and in EMWG. The one and only exception is the General Service in English from the city of Garissa on 639 kHz which is off the air at present. During the whole period of time by the beginning of January 2008 the programme format seemed not to be effected from the actual crisis in this country. It was only once on a Sunday morning when a discussion programme in English with youngster participants was aired for 60 minutes around midday talking about the political situation. (Schliephacke). Can I suppose that 4915 also was heard ? (Ed)

Mozambique

When I was in Uganda I could make record of three stations only: R Mocambique Manica, via Chimoio (1026 MW? Ed) presumed only (50kW), R Mocambique Zambezia, via Quelimane on 1179 MW (50 kW) and R Mocambique Niassa, via Lichinga on 1260 MW (50 kW). I never heard these stations ID-ing as “emissora provincial”, but “Radio Mocambique” + State / Department instead i.e. “Radio Mocambique Niassa”. I wondered why the other stations did not show up. The Niassa station just by the way radiates a very powerful signal and they were audible until 0430 UTC =0730 local time, what is perfect daylight in Uganda already. (Schliephacke)

Nigeria

Most of the time available by the beginning of January I invested to check the MW frequencies from Nigeria. I scanned the channels between 2115 (after sign off from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) until 2330 and again in the morning at their listed sign on time 0430. The result was very poor – only one station came through: Borno State Broadcasting on 756 MW at around 2245 until sign off at 2300, quality was fair. Afterwards the other station listed from Niger State (to sign off at 2330) was not there. The time to check frequencies when in Uganda was limited to one week, to short to have evidence, but I am still of the opinion, that a number of these stations are either silent or work on very much reduced powers and not on their nominals 25/50/100 kW. This might also explain, why a investment plan for re-organizing the MW usage along with a Japanese company was decided from the Nigerian government recently as reported in MWN. (Schliephacke)

Sudan

From my listening post next to Kampala, I checked the frequencies of the Sudanese Radio as well. Reception in Kampala is of course “local-like” and I did not pay to much attention to these stations. The EMWG is accurate, I found all stations active, sometimes being a bit “off channel”. Worth mentioning: R Peace in Arabic on 963 MW from Khartoum with a 100 kW, I checked if there is a English Programme as it was on SW (no longer active there) in the 1800-1900 time span, but only Arabic programmes aired. Southern Sudan R is a station from Juba. They broadcast in local African languages, not Arabic or Sudanese Arabic at least at the time I listened. They have English news along with messages to NGO people etc. aired 1430-1445, the English sounds a little bit “Pidgin”-like though. (Schliephacke)

Tanzania

The situation regarding the usage of the MW seems to be quite stable, transmitters from almost every site are active like listed in WRTH and EMWG. Only exception is the FS frequency 1035 MW which is not in use. I doubt that there is any FS any longer at all. The Radio One channels 1440 MW in English and 1323 MW in Swaheli are also there and both very powerful even just radiating 10 kW. (Schliephacke)

Uganda

Being in Kampala I checked the Ugandan MW frequencies of the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation. While almost all of the neighbouring countries Kenya and Tanzania’s station are active, the situation in Uganda is totally different. From the listed transmitters only two are active which are as follows: Butebo 729 MW Blue network (listed as Red network 100 kW), but irregularly, and Kampala Red Network as listed (20kW) (909 MW ?. Ed) in // with 7195 (daylight) and 4976 (evening and mornings). This might explain that there is a investment plan existing with a Japanese company to reorganize the usage of the MW and invest in new transmitters as reported in MWN recently. (Schliephacke)

Grasscutters Radio 1925-2024*, 6925/AM; SIO 454 to open but varied greatly. Heard Grasscutter from 1925-1940 or so, then what sounded like Sunshine but she was severely QRMd off and on until 2020. Sunshine ID at 2015 followed by Neil Young song. Clear Sunshine ID at 2023. (Silvi, Ohio)

Mystery Radio 6220AM 01/05 2355-0352+ A nice long show until conditions changed.Signal was good to poor. Music played was techno, 80's disco and funk.(Majewski CT) 6220AM 01/06 2054-2132* Usual music show. When off at 2132.(Majewski CT)

Radio Jamba International 2150-2205, 6950 USB. Kinks's Destroyer, clips from Lumpy Gravy about Kracker being paranoid; off with SSTV (Ragnar-MI)

Undercover Radio 6925 USB 01/06/08 16:40-17:19 SIO 344 S5New Years show 2008. Dr. Benway talks about his various adventures & talks about broadcasting from way far out there. speech fromWilliam S Burroughs, Dr. Benway on live at the end thanking the posters on the FRN. repeated at 21:00 (Ragnar-MI)

Voice of the Bat 0033-0054, 6925/USB; SIO=141141+. Miserable signal, & what appeared to be an ID at 0035. 1940s pop and discussions by an OM ancr, but the level was so poor, copy was difficult. Copied no address. I haven't heard this one before. (Zeller-OH)

WTCR, Twentith Century Radio 6925USB 12/28/07 *1528-1604* SIO=242. Usual slogan of 20th Century Radio but this program was a mixture of old novelty rock and country Christmas tunes, somewhat out of their normal format. Belfast addr. (Zeller-OH) 6950 01/01/08 0422-0542* Female vocalists followed b Rolling Stones,Elvis Costello and others. Fair signal (Majewski CT)

Guam 11640 AWR Wavescan Special Program ( Interview with Graham Lucas, Head of DW South Asia) on Rose DW Listeners Club, Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Nice glossy QSL Card, showing Nurun Nahar Sattar, Ashik Eqbal Tokon and Grahame Lucas on the front, with details on the reverse. This for a initial Postal Report too: GPO Box 56, Rajshahi 6000, Bangladesh, followed with a e-mail follow-up. E-mail reports can be sent to: rosedwlc@gmail.com Web site is http://www.rosedwlc.tk/ Also sent ( the enclosed envelope with nice ICC World Cup 2007 stamps) 2 Taka Bill. Total time of 8 months, 3 months after e-mail follow-up. v/s: Ashik Eqhal Tokon (E. Kusalik, Alberta, Canada)

Micronesia4755, PMA, The Cross-Radio. Date/Time "The Cross" logo QSL card, w/ Bible verse, photo of a small island, on side. Reverse address, stamp, and mention of two fqys, 4755 SW (V6MP). and 88.5 FM (V6MA). Reply in 78 days for a MP3 CD report with return postage. V/S somewhat illegible, but looks much like Roland Weibel The next day got a letter (with nice Island stamps) enclosed where my three (3) PPC’s, all signed and stamped by Roland. (E. Kusalik, Alberta, Canada)

It is with great sadness that we have to announce that Colin Dixon passed away early yesterday morning. Colin was a major part of Laser Hot Hits and kept the station going through thick and thin. He was always a friendly and helpful person who was greatly respected by all those involved with Laser. We all admired his “can do” attitude, never letting any excuse get in the way from carrying out the more difficult or unpleasant jobs to keep the station on the air. He also had an impressive engineering knowledge that he put to good use building high power valve transmitters for Laser. Many listeners probably know that Colin had a long history in free radio, being involved from the start with the long running SW station Radio Gemini which began back in 1972.

Laser Hot Hits then evolved from the last broadcasts of Radio Gemini in the early 1990’s. Colin’s sudden death has come as a big shock to all of us and he will be irreplaceable. However we shall try to continue for the time being as a tribute to the memory of a great man. Saturday we will remember him all day next weeks, 6275 khz in Europe, on Laser Hot Hits, Europe’s ongoing free radio history. On the Sounds page we have added the last show recorded by Colin less than a week ago. This includes an introduction by Martin Scott. RIP Colin. Info via Laser Hot Hits.

On this cold and blustery Saturday, time to focus on what contributors Ron Howard, Hans Johnson, Joe Wood, John Wilkins, Dave Valko, Brian Alexander, and Chuck Bolland are hearing on shortwave radio. Thanks and best of DX you way!Gayle VH

All times UTC // parallel frequencies

Angola4950, Radio Nacional Angola. Luanda, 0113-0144, Jan 25. Pop songs, this is the best I have heard them here, as usually they are below threshold level. Thanks to Chuck Bolland for tip they were being heard so well! Heard again at 0248 with program of African high-life music and songs. Also heard from 0508-0531, Jan 26, clear ID "Rádio Nacional de Angola", several promos for music event on "Sábado", pop songs in English and Portuguese, African high-life music, mostly fair, but bothered by slight het. Live "Canal A" audio streaming not working at website: http://www.rna.ao/ (R. Howard, CA)

4950, Radio Nacional, 0050-0110. Steady local music until the hour when at that time, four ticks and a tone. On the hour, ID by male followed with news in Portuguese language. Another ID at 0106, "...Radio Nacional..." followed by promos. Signal was good. (C. Bolland, FL)

Bangladesh7250 Bangladesh Betar (presumed) 1229 with loud buzz and weak signal. I thought I heard their interval signal played just once. There was then a man talking in English at 1230, it sounded like he mentioned 41 meters. Then a woman mentioned Bangladesh and talked, but she was just too weak to follow. I will have to try again. There was at least one other station on the channel, but it was as weak as presumed Bangladesh. (H. Johnson, FL via DX Tuner/Sweden)Jan 26)

Bolivia4699.34, Radio San Miguel, 1051-1100. Initially heard music which continued up to the hour. At 1059 a quick comment by a male and back to music. But at 1100 more live comments. Signal was poor. (C. Bolland, FL)

6134.80, Radio Santa Cruz, 1025-1035 At tune in, canned ID "Santa Cruz" and immediately into music. Conditions are very poor this morning with atmospheric (QRN) noise covering the weaker stations. At 1029 a male recites a poem over music. Signal is fair.(C. Bolland, FL)

China6060, Sichuan PBS-2, Chengdu, 1050-1133, Jan 16. Chinese programming, Time pips at 1100, traditional Chinese music, // 7225, both fair. Noticed that at 1100 and 1130 the usual program IDs in English for "This is the Voice of Golden Bridge"(known as their "Life, Travel and City Service" program) were not given. Recently have not heard that ID at all. Possible change to their program schedule? For several years now I have found it hard to believe that this station is only the listed 15 kW. Admittedly I am less than an expert on such matters, but common sense tells me that such a distant station could not be heard by me with such a decent signal on a fairly regular basis, with only 15 kW (R. Howard, CA)

6115, Voice of Strait (presumed), 0946-1002, Jan 25. Program of indigenous singing , heard on // with 7280 till about 0958, when 7280 changes to a different program. Top-of-the-hour time pips, both about equal level, fair-poor. (R. Howard, CA)

4905, People's Broadcasting Station, Lhasa, Tibet, 1118-1130, I have a reference in my database that between 1100-1120, this station broadcasts in English. Although I tuned in when there was just a couple of minutes left for English, I couldn't tell if they were actually broadcasting in English due to the poor quality of the signal. Comments continued during the period in Tibetian probably? Music presented at 1125. Signal was poor. Checked a few parallels, (4920 and 5240) and found same type of ogram. (C. Bolland, FL)

4950, Voice of Pujiang, (tentative), 1127-1135. Tuned into music here followed by Chinese comments. Signal is very, very threshold and only fading in periodically. Pujiang isn't suppose to come on the air until 1200 UTC according to Eibi. (C. Bolland, FL)

Egypt6290, Radio Cairo (presumed), 0257, Jan 25. Heard just before sign-off with reciting from the Qu'ran, very strong signal, which must be due to the unusual propagation conditions. (R. Howard, CA)

Guam11690, KSDA, AWR-Voice of Hope, Agat, 1600-1615+, Jan 25. Tune-in to English noted as, "Adventist World Radio-Voice of Hope" IDs at 1600 and into Christian music. English religious talk. Weak but readable. Looking for Jordon but hear this instead. (Brian Alexander, PA)

Guatemala4779.96 Radio Cultural Coatán 0130-0300* Jan 19. Ranchera-style religious vocals, M ancr speaking occasionally in Spanish and maybe Indian langs, as well; CST time checks; heard ID's both as Radio Coatán and Radio Cultural Coatán; church anmts from 0231-0242, then back to music. Closedown at 0300. Decent signal for 1 kW and this is probably my unID from the morning of January 17. (J Wilkins, CO)

Indonesia1784.87v, Voice of Indonesia, 0839-0847, Jan 25. Easy-listening and ballads. Weak, clearly // 9526.0v (good). Do not recall them being regularly heard in parallel, isn't it normally one or the other? (R. Howard, CA)

9680, RRI Jakarta, 1000-1020, Jan 16. Kang Guru Radio English program #5807, talking about growing and the uses for cloves, interview with famous Indonesian motorbike racer who is only 17, several pop songs, their usual segment with song "That's What Friends Are For", fair, light QRM/WYFR. (R Howard, CA)

4869.94, RRI Wamena 1112-1130. Noted a male in the tailend of Indonesian comments. He is followed with bridge music and then a female in comments. At 1116 music is presented. Signal was fair. (C. Bolland, FL)

Malaysia6049.68, Radio & Television Malaysia, 1013-1029. With a weak signal during the period, noted a male in comments, couldn't identify the language however; and noted music typical of the area. I thought I heard somekind of chanting around 1026, but could not be certain. At 1029, HCJB comes on the air blocking an already weak signal, which resulted in Malaysia's "wipeout".(C. Bolland, FL)

Mexico4800, XERTA/Radio Transcontinental de America, 0317-0323, Jan 25. Assume preaching in Spanish, not the usual non-stop religious music, weak. Also 0539-0551, again with non-stop preaching, CODAR QRM. Also heard from 0939-1015, Jan 26, distinctive program of non-stop singing by children, in Spanish, clearly parallel to their live audio streaming http://www.xertaradio.com/transmision.htm (thanks to Mark Schiefelbein for noting this way for positively ID'ing them), still no ID heard, fair, decent strength, but some splatter from an unusually strong Brazil on 4805, CODAR QRM (R. Howard, CA)

North Korea6071.22, Voice of Korea, 1035-1049, Jan 16. Program in Japanese with Asian songs and music, best in USB, // 9650, both fair. This frequency is interesting in light of 6101.22 that I heard yesterday (R. Howard, CA)

Papua New Guinea3290, Radio Central (tentative), 1007-1033, Jan 25. Indigenous music and singing, followed by series of conversations in vernacular, weak. Also heard 1059-1131 & 1155-1200*, news (seemed to be segment in vernacular and in English), 1105 DJ playing C&W songs (Islands In The Stream by Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton, etc.). Anthem before sign-off. Also from 1149-1159*, Jan 26, pop songs in English, Anthem at sign-off, CW QRM. Rare for me to hear them above threshold level. (R. Howard, CA)

3335, Radio East Sepik (tentative), 1201-1210, Jan 26. News in English (police report, etc.), weather (list of cities and they were all having "showers"), DJ playing pop songs, weak. (R. Howard, CA)

7325, Wantok Radio Light (tentative), 1030-1143, Jan 26. After the sign-off at 1030 of Radio France International, via Taiwan (their signal was much stronger than usual), heard signal at threshold level, could not make out the language of OM and YL's conversation, very slowly improving, so by 1058 could tell was religious programming in English (he seemed to have an accent) and segment of religious songs in English. (R. Howard, CA)

3345 Radio Northern 1117. Lively island and pop music. Including a remake of Abbas "I Have a Dream" Woman announcer program host after just about every song. 1256 end of Island song, then same woman announcer with station ID and closing announcement with frequency and morning sign-on time. Little top-of-the-hour tinkly melody at 1258. Still going at 1304. ( D. Valko, PA via HCDX 12 Jan.)

3290 Radio Central 1156 The Lady in Red by Chris DeBurgh. Woman announcer with very short closing announcement, including an ID, then instrumental national anthem from 1158-1159. Carrier still on at 1255 check. (D. Valko, PA via HCDX 12 Jan.)

3334.97 Radio East Sepik 1233. End of Rock-like song, then male announcer with talk 1234-1236, and possible live remote. 1238 back to music. Remote continued at 1239 with talk by child and male. 1245 studio male announcer after island song. 1247 Male announcer's phone caller, audio much stronger than announcers items. Reggae song at 1259. 1301-1302 studio announcer with possibly closing announcements and mentions of broadcast. 1302-1303, short instrumental national anthem, then NBC national news/ Program off at 1305:43*. Fair but a lot of CHU slop-over QRM. (D. Valko, PA via HCDX 12 Jan.)

Peru4774.97, Radio Tarma, 1100-1115. Just tuning by and caught a live ID during comments as "Radio Tarma...". Then into Huaynos music. Usual CODAR interference on this frequency, but signal was still fair. (C. Bolland, FL)

6925 Grasscutter Radio. 1900-1932+. 12 Jan 08. Several IDs and music by artists Robin Trower, Rod Stewart, Billy Squire and others. First log of this station in quite a long time. Nice show! Fair-Good. (J. Wood, TN)

Saudi Arabia15250 Radio Jeddah(Cumbre DX follow up) It was a switching error I heard yesterday. They still had English after 1200 today. 1144 with program in called Network Journal produced and presented by Rabia Hersey (as heard). Rabia and a male announcer (I have heard him on other programs, they both have American accents.) were talking about which Bluetooth device is best. At 1148 there was a new program, but I could not understand the title. It consisted of an interview with a man living in Saudi Arabia who had converted to Islam. This program ended at 1159. 5+1 time pips and then there was an ID for Radio Jeddah and news in English read by a woman. (H. Johnson, FL via DX Tuner/Sweden Jan 26)

The transmissions of Radio Gloria will be broadcast over the transmitting station Wertachtal in Germany. The transmitter power will be 100 000 Watts, and we will be using a non-directional antenna system (Quadrant antenna). Good listening (Source: Tom Taylor)

VOA Urdu (Aap Ki Duniya) Service drops all SW channelsSat, 26 Jan 2008With effect from 28 January 2008 VOA Urdu Service (Aap Ki Duniya) is to discontinue all shortwave channels. The SW schedule was 0100-0200 7145 9740 kHz and in the evening 1400-1800 7495 9370 kHz 1800-1900 7425 7495 kHz. Most of the channels carrying Urdu service is moving to VOA DEEWA service specially the evening 7495 and 9370 kHz. From 28 January VOA Urdu service is available only on 972 and 1539 kHz MW. If you've any comments on this please write to urdu@voanews.com

Friday, January 25, 2008

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and its British counterpart, the BBC, have signed an agreement with MySpace allowing the use of their video content on the social networking website.

“The ABC and BBC deals ensure MySpace users are now able to add new clips from the best in local and international TV programmes to their profiles and continues the growing momentum of MySpaceTV,” MySpace.com Australia & New Zealand vice president, Rebekah Horne, said.

Ms Horne admitted one of the reasons behind the creation of the MySpaceTV network in 2007 was to provide users with a legal way of adding copyrighted material to their pages. “What we found was that there was a lot of interest in embedding video in their profile,” Ms Horne said. “So we’re out there sourcing content as an addition to what was being generated by users.”

Other content providers to have already signed with MySpace include National Geographic and sports company Rip Curl.(Source: Australian IT/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)